Delamination of Multilayer Plastic Films to Recover Polyethylene with Favorable Mechanical Properties
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
- 2University at Buffalo, The State University of New York (SUNY)
- 3Engineered Materials Group, National Security Division
- 4Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- 5Energy Processes and Materials Group, Energy and Environment Division
Abstract
Multilayer plastic films play a critical role in packaging, with each polymer layer contributing specific properties to the multilayer film. Multilayer plastic films are not currently recyclable due to the bound polymers. With multilayer film production of about 20 million metric tons in 2024 and rising, end-of-life treatment becomes pressing. This work presents a scalable solvent-based delamination recycling process that is applied to commercial postindustrial multimaterial films to unbind the materials within a multilayer film by dissolving only the adhesive layer and recover polyethylene (PE) as an intact solid film. Solvent-based delamination is a simple process that allows the complete recovery of materials and solvents used in the process. The delaminating solvent, 88% formic acid in water, induces delamination of PE/PEI/PET and PE/PU/PET films at 70 °C in under an hour. Recovered PE has no contamination detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mechanical properties on par with those of virgin resin. The recovery of high-quality solid PE film fit for reprocessing, at low operating temperatures and with closed-loop solvent reuse, promotes delamination as a low energy consumption and environmentally friendly recycling process. PE recovered from delamination can be reused in equivalent products, promoting circularity of multimaterial films.
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BibTeX
@article{licht2026delamination,
title = {{Delamination of Multilayer Plastic Films to Recover Polyethylene with Favorable Mechanical Properties}},
author = {Jacob S. Licht and Darrell D. Mayberry and Kumari Sushmita and Yelin Ni and Jorge Ortiz Garcia and Justin Olson and Jose L. Ramos and Kevin L. Simmons and Daniel R. Merkel and Marina Tsianou and Paschalis Alexandridis},
journal = {ACS Sustainable Chemistry \& Engineering},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c01010},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c01010},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Delamination of Multilayer Plastic Films to Recover Polyethylene with Favorable Mechanical Properties
AU - Jacob S. Licht
AU - Darrell D. Mayberry
AU - Kumari Sushmita
AU - Yelin Ni
AU - Jorge Ortiz Garcia
AU - Justin Olson
AU - Jose L. Ramos
AU - Kevin L. Simmons
AU - Daniel R. Merkel
AU - Marina Tsianou
AU - Paschalis Alexandridis
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/09
JO - ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
DO - 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c01010
UR - https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6c01010
AB - Multilayer plastic films play a critical role in packaging, with each polymer layer contributing specific properties to the multilayer film. Multilayer plastic films are not currently recyclable due to the bound polymers. With multilayer film production of about 20 million metric tons in 2024 and rising, end-of-life treatment becomes pressing. This work presents a scalable solvent-based delamination recycling process that is applied to commercial postindustrial multimaterial films to unbind the materials within a multilayer film by dissolving only the adhesive layer and recover polyethylene (PE) as an intact solid film. Solvent-based delamination is a simple process that allows the complete recovery of materials and solvents used in the process. The delaminating solvent, 88% formic acid in water, induces delamination of PE/PEI/PET and PE/PU/PET films at 70 °C in under an hour. Recovered PE has no contamination detected by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mechanical properties on par with those of virgin resin. The recovery of high-quality solid PE film fit for reprocessing, at low operating temperatures and with closed-loop solvent reuse, promotes delamination as a low energy consumption and environmentally friendly recycling process. PE recovered from delamination can be reused in equivalent products, promoting circularity of multimaterial films.
SN - 2168-0485
ER -